The Apple Watch Might Not Be Doing So Hot

Sales of the world's greatest burrito-ordering device seem to have slowed considerably.

The Apple Watch might be the world's greatest burrito-ordering machine. But it might not be selling as well as Apple was hoping. The main evidence this week comes courtesy of third-party analytics firm Slice Intelligence, which reported that when the Apple Watch first went on sale in April, 35,000 watches were being pushed a day. Now? That daily sales figure is closer to 5,000, based on e-receipt data from 2.5 million online shoppers.

As GQ pal and cool dad Mark Wilson does an excellent job of breaking down at Co.Design, that's problematic for a few reasons. One of the larger points is that the slowdown means the Apple Watch isn't gathering the word-of-mouth momentum that propelled the iPhone and iPad into the zeitgeist. It's losing steam, and as it stands, the watch appeals to an incredibly skinny Venn diagram of consumer—mostly well-to-do tech dudes with money to blow.

That's not a terrible thing. Growing pains were to be expected. And mostly all the Apple Watch owners I spoke to had nothing but positive things to say about it. "I thought I'd get a lot more shit for it, like the couple weeks I was trying out Google Glass," says Matt Hackett, a tech exec in New York. "But in general people just want to try it on."

"There's nothing I really hate about it," Sidney Lo, a photographer based in New York, told me over email. "It could be a little faster. I would enjoy more options for customizing the design and the UI could be slightly more efficient. Otherwise it's insanely good at a 1.0 release—99% of people ask if I like it and most say they want one themselves."

And that's sorta the point. The Apple Watch as is isn't really ready for the mainstream. (I mean, can you imagine your mom wearing one yet? Thought not.) But when it gets a little cheaper, and a little thinner, and maybe if you didn't have to charge it every night, it could be like the leap from the iPod to the iPod Mini, and you'll finally feel compelled to spring for one.